


I'll Be Waiting

by Kay_Drew



Category: Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist (TV)
Genre: Angst, Drama, F/M, Gen, Hurt and comfort, Multi, Music, Musical, Other, Romance, Whump
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:07:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23222248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kay_Drew/pseuds/Kay_Drew
Summary: Sprinkled with lyrics from Cyndi Lauper's 'Time After Time', this story is about life, love, and pursuit of happiness. Weeks after 'Zoey's Extraordinary Night Out' and Max being her knight-in-shining-armor, Zoey's next person in need of helping is herself. For the first time, Zoey finds she's singing to herself. Not sure what that means, she bottles it up and tries to ignore the gnawing feeling the song leaves her. However, the truth can't stay hidden forever, can it? An accident might very well leave Zoey with a song that will never end and a secret that is destined to stay hidden.  Please R&R!
Relationships: Zoey Clarke/Max
Comments: 18
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

“Duh duh, da, dum da dum. The drum beats out of time,” Zoey hummed under her breath as she walked shoulder-to-shoulder with Mo. At least, she was. At some point in the deliberate humming she realized Mo was no longer by her side; Zoey had managed to get halfway down the block.

Whirling around, she stared at Mo. Mo stared back. “What? What are you doing?” Zoey asked. “We’re going to be late and all the good muffins’ll be bought up. I don’t want the crummy ones, like onion-bacon. I don’t want bacon breath all day.”

“Child, you’re singing. Sing like there’s no tomorrow,” Mo points out, not moving to catch up with Zoey.

“So? What’s the big deal? I… sing…sometimes… occasionally… okay, almost never,” Zoey stammered, feeling her face flush. “It’s not a big deal. I just have a song stuck in my head. That’s all.”

Mo sighs and shakes his head. “That’s the big deal. As long as I’ve known you and your little superpower you have not sang. You don’t even know any songs! Remember ‘True Colors’ or ‘Moondance’ or “I Wanna Dance With Someone’ or….” Mo listed and likely would have kept going unless Zoey cut the DJ off.

“I got it. I got it. I suck at music. I know that. But seriously, it is nothing. Nothing. I was watching _Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion_ and the song at the end got stuck in my head. That’s it,” Zoey explained. That was a half-truth. She had watched the movie with her dad over the weekend, but that was not the reason she’d been humming it.

Flashback to the night before, Zoey (in her gray flannel pants and a freebie t-shirt she scored in a swag bag from an app developer presentation) went to bed early. Max’s ballad about walking 500 miles (just for her) haunted Zoey’s life. It had been weeks and the two of them hadn’t really talked about anything that transpired (well, didn’t transpire). As she fell asleep, that moment was replaying in her mind as she stared at her digital photo frame. The pictures flipped from one to another. There were flowers and holiday dinners and family and things she thought were interesting. For every one of those types of photos, there were two pictures of Max. Zoey didn’t remember any dreams from that night, but had woken with her alarm blaring in her ear and a song in her mind. Maybe there had been a dram and Zoey just didn’t remember it.

But Zoey did not want to talk about any of that. She wasn’t sure of anything. For now, the song had gotten stuck in her head _just_ because of that movie. “Really,” Zoey added.

“Uh-huh….”

“Mo! Lay off,” Zoey said with more force than she meant to use. Her face fell when she noticed his slack jaw and head tilt. “Mo, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped.”

“Child, it’s already water-under-the-bridge. Let’s get you that coffee and peach ginger muffin you’ve been raving about,” Mo assured, jogging with purpose to catch up with Zoey. “You got a raw talent, btw. You hit a pure F. It was a little wobbly but not bad. Not bad at all.”

“Thanks.”


	2. Chapter 2

“Zoey. Zoey? Earth to Zoey,” Joan’s voice rang through the conference room.

“Huh?” Zoey mumbled, sitting up straighter in the cream-colored rolling chair and dropping her hand from her face. She’d zoned out with her chin propped on her palm. The song still ‘played’ in repeat in her mind.

“Oh, good, you’ve decided to grace us with your awareness,” Joan remarked. She crossed her arms over her chest. The smart watch bobbed from the swift up motion. “Tobin has suggested an upgrade to our watch. Tobin?” Joan seemed sarcastically amused (was that a thing that could happen?) and as if she was humoring him. _This has got to be good._

Tobin did not seem to notice Joan’s expression or tone. He leapt from his own rolling seat, which sent it backwards. “Okay, dudes and dudettes, sugar crashes majorly suck, am I right?” Tobin started out. He paused for effect. “Time after time…”

While listening, Zoey shifted in her seat. She moved the swivel seat back and forth – back and forth. “Wait? What did you say?” she asked. Her eyebrows arched so far up onto her forehead it caused a slight tension headache.

“I said time after time?” he replied, a clear look up confusion crossing his face at the panic that felt like it had settled on Zoey’s face (she didn’t know, but she could feel it happening). “Is that against the law?”

“Nope. Not at all. Carry on…” Zoey mumbled. Okay, this was getting a little weird. What was going on? Why did it feel like that song was starting to follow her? “I’m all ears.”

“Extraterrestrial Zoey, nice mental image,” Tobin quipped with his usual grin. “Thanks.”

“Tobin, we don’t have all day,” Joan growled as she drummed her fingers on the desk. “I have to go meet with the head of the Sixth Floor and you know how much I hate the Sixth Floor.”

Pretty much everyone nodded. A few groaned. Zoey watched this all with a confused expression. She may have worked here for awhile, but had no idea about the rivalry between the floors. Tobin continued his spiel, which prevented any questions about this missed bit of office gossip.

“So, sugar cashes after a hard workout totally suck. You get light headed and extra sweaty and you can’t think about anything but a mega, stuffed cheeseburger with all the goods. The lettuce, the onions, the peppers, the double-cheese, the bacon, the avocado,” Tobin continued. Joan glared at Tobin as he rattled off that grocery list of a hamburger fixings. “Yeah, and you don’t want to take an energy drink or electrolyte water with you. It’s too 1990s if you ask me. It’s too much bulk to carry.”

The music started playing her head. Her coworkers were swaying in their seats. They were raising and lowering their hands in time with the music on Zoey could hear. “Caught up in circles, confusion is nothing new,” Zoey sang. Her coworkers echoed ‘confusion’. “Flashback, warm nights almost left behind. Suitcases of memories, time after...”

“Tobin, I think we need to wrap this up. Zoey seems to be having her own sugar crash,” Joan remarked. She stared at Zoey, clearly concerned. “Are we done with this little singing interruption?”

“Mmm-hmmm,” Zoey whispered, nodding. She pressed her lips together and stared at Tobin as she tried to ignore everyone staring at her. It felt like they were trying to bore through her skull by using their eyes. “Sorry.”

“The answer is gumballs. Not any gumballs, but gumballs that have all the goods you need to perk right up! You know how people will get them? Not from gym bags or the welcome counter at the centers. No. No. That would totally not be cool. The watch will pop one out with a touch of a button.”

“Um, how? Do you know how big the watch would have to be to fit more than two gumballs? I don’t think people will want to carry a gumball machine on their wrists, Tobin. Interesting though, but I think you need to go back to the drawing board,” Zoey admitted. “You might be onto something with the gumball idea, though. Just not attached to the watch.”

With the meeting seemingly over, she grabbed her tablet and hurried out of the room. She didn’t even stop when Max called her. Zoey did notice the concern. “I’ll be back at one. Lunch with dad…” she mumbled, getting on the elevator.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for the delay! I really wanted this out two Sundays ago, but I ended up having a final paper that took me until 3 AM on March 29th. This week I started a new class, but the schedule is not quite as intense from what I can tell. Please enjoy this next chapter!


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